


In Another Life

by serohtonin



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Angst, Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-14 02:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/831858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serohtonin/pseuds/serohtonin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darren makes a last-minute change to his set list.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Another Life

**Author's Note:**

> Of course, I don't claim this to be real life.

It's not on the set list.

It's not an original song.

It's not even a cover that's he famous for performing, but the ache in his gut insists that he sings it.

Or more likely, the ache in his heart.

An acoustic number is supposed to be next, luckily, so he sits down and slides the guitar strap over his head.

"So, this isn't, um, a new song, nor is it one that I've written," he tells the crowd, "but I'm singing it anyway."

He closes his eyes for a second, a photo that Chris took of his boyfriend flashing in front of him as he starts to strum.

A photo that anyone could see, the kind that Darren never allowed Chris to take of him.

 _"Summer after high school, when we first met,"_ he sings the lyrics quieter than anything he's sung all night, _"we'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead..."_

He continues singing and thinks of last summer, of stolen kisses and late-night heartfelt confessions, the latter whispered into sweaty skin and over phone lines.

_"Never planned that one day, I'd be losing you..."_

He remembers shouting matches about what really matters, _us or this stupid image? This record deal's going to kill us. Is that what you want?_

He'd let Chris walk out, and they'd reunite passionately, not discussing what had caused the row.

Then, they'd returned to normal, for a little while at least.

Until one day, they didn't, and Chris left for good.

_"In another life, I would make you stay, so I don't have to say you were the one that got away."_

He remembers the tug in his chest the first time he saw Chris smile at another man, the way he used to smile at Darren.

He swallowed down the pain like he swallowed half a bottle of liquor later that night.

He keeps playing the song, remarkably not missing a line until after the second chorus.

 _"All this money can't buy me a time machine,"_ he sings, but cuts himself off and speaks, "wait, what is it again, oh right," as if he doesn't remember what's next, when honestly, he needs a moment of composure.

 _"Oh, I shoulda told what you meant to me,"_ he sings again. _"Now I pay the price."_

He pauses again, wishing that maybe he grabbed Chris that last time he left, pleaded with him, just said, _"Fuck the tour, fuck the album, fuck this whole fucking thing._ You _matter to me, you know that."_

Instead, he stayed silent when Chris offered an impossible ultimatum, and shivered when Chris gave him a cold glare he knew he deserved.

The door slams in his memory, closing on a future he desperately desired with the one person he loved almost more than anything.

He let that future slip away, though, the one filled with morning coffee chats debating the merits of hand-drawn versus computer animation, or which of the two of them made better waffles _(Darren, always Darren,_ Chris would laugh after kissing him on the cheek) because he knew he didn't want it more than he wanted _this,_ the roar of the crowd presently in front of him.

Chris would be better off now, without any of those things, without Darren.

Still, he wishes that weren't true.

So, he sings, _"The one that got away. You were the one that got away,"_ to deafening applause and cheers, letting the energy of the audience hype him up enough to transition into the next song.

The noise dulls the hum in the back of his brain that wonders what Chris is doing right at this moment.

He quiets it, or rather feeds it, with his next words into the microphone, "Now, on to something a little more angry."


End file.
